Wrote Earl Wilson..."Most of count something...dollars, pounds, accomplishments, or calories."

Browning counted the ways in which he loved his wife. Bing Crosby offered those who worried sage advice as he sang, "When you're worried, and you can't sleep, count your blessings instead​ of sheep..."

Many of those incarcerated have counted the days until their release.

Jesus informed us that a true follower of His was like unto a man, intending to build a tower, who would sit down first and count the cost to see if he had "sufficient to finish it." (Luke 14:28)

May we become wise with our lives and count the cost, 'ere all is lost.

"I do the very best I know how," wrote Abraham Lincoln, "the very best I know how."

Of all our Presidents, Lincoln was able to understand the significance of the old adage, "Failure is never final."

One of the greatest assets of our sixteenth President was his ability to carry on his present course with much patience during the Civil War which brought much sorrow into his life, as did the death of his eleven-year old, son, William "Willie" Lincoln, while living .in the White House.

Lincoln was a visionary who saw the day all men would be free, and slavery no more.

But, it was in the present tense that Lincoln gained his fame and glory, for it was in the present that he did his very best. Honestly, decently, patiently.

As with Lincoln, may this be the very best day of our lives.

(Originally written in 1977. This is a revision, written on February 22, 2017)